Did I get the WB correct?

pahl

I have been shooting all my games with custom WB and jpg.

Tonight I shot a game using RAW for the first time.
I also used 1600 iso for the first time too. I had been using iso 800.
Was using my 50mm 1.4 and no flash.

So I set the WB using RawShooter essentials. Cropped the tiff files the way I wanted, then save as jpg.

Did I get the WB correct? To me it looks good, but I am new so what do I know, lol..

I know my focus is not right on in many of them and it sure would be better if I could fill the frame using the lens so I would not have to crop so much.

Would love to hear some input on the WB.

http://pahl.smugmug.com/gallery/2442502#128086010

Thanks..

pahl

Wow, 35 views and no one can tell me if the WB is ok.

Did I screw it up so bad that no one want to tell me.

maczippy

Hey!

You gotta give it more than an hour you know...! Some would look who might not be comfortable letting you know.

IMO, and I'm certainly no expert of basketball shots, but looking at what I consider the items of clothing that should look "white" (I know that's so subjective but hey...) they appear to be fine. A little lacking in punch/contrast, but they certainly don't have that yellowish glow (you know what I mean right) that an off WB can cause.

Did you shoot RAW? IMO, that's almost a requirement when shooting under these conditions, providing you get your exposures and shutter/ap correct the WB can always be fixed a wee bit later on.

Ultimately the question should be for yout o ask yourself. How do you feel about the WB, do the images reflect the lighting that was available at the event?

Andrew

pahl

Thanks for the reply. I did shot in RAW for the first time.
Yeah, I know what you mean about that yellowish glow. Just look at most of my other basketball photos, lol..

Now I need to work on the punch/contrast. This sure is a lot of fun and everyone hear is so helpfull, thanks..

btw, it had been a good 12 hours between my two post.

JESTER

It has been a while since I shot basketball in a gym but these look fine to me as far as WB. The whites look white and the blacks look black. I agree with Maczippy on the rest. A little brightning of a couple of the shot wouldn't hurt either. At least you don't have the yellowish or greenish tint that I see most people get when they take this kind of photo. Just a little tweeking and you are there. Hope this helps!

Nimai

Looks good to me, as far as WB. Mine often look too yellow. I need to try using custom WB as well. I was intrigued by your use of a 50mm f1.4! I've got one of those, but I never tried shooting the game with it. I will have to give that a shot next time!

wxwax

I think you did an excellent job with your WB. How did you pick your temp in RawShooter.

pahl

wxwax wrote:

I think you did an excellent job with your WB. How did you pick your temp in RawShooter.

I used the eye dropper tool thing (not sure what it's called, lol) and placed it on one of the white numbers on the players shirt. I tried the white socks, shirts and a couple other spots in a number of different photos and the white numbers seem to work best for me.

I copied the WB setting, selected all photos and gave every photo the same WB setting.

All very helpfull replies, thanks everyone.

I will go back now and see if I can make some other adjustments. I really needed to work on getting the WB down first. Its so hard to tell sometimes. Other parents, sons friends, other players, etc.. will look at them yellow phots and think they are the greatest thing they have ever seen for basketball photos, lol.. I know from looking at all the great smugmug photos that others take that I can get them much better.

Thanks a million for taking the time to look..

pahl

Nimai wrote:

Looks good to me, as far as WB. Mine often look too yellow. I need to try using custom WB as well. I was intrigued by your use of a 50mm f1.4! I've got one of those, but I never tried shooting the game with it. I will have to give that a shot next time!

I only use the 50mm f/1.4 because it's what I have.
I first got it so I could take indoor shots without a flash. I often have it around f2.2-2.8 I hope for next basketball season to have a med. zoom, say 28mm-75mm f/2.8 or something around there. 85mm f/1.8 would be great I think for basketball, but a little out of my price range right now.

mkress65

pahl wrote:

I only use the 50mm f/1.4 because it's what I have.
I first got it so I could take indoor shots without a flash. I often have it around f2.2-2.8 I hope for next basketball season to have a med. zoom, say 28mm-75mm f/2.8 or something around there. 85mm f/1.8 would be great I think for basketball, but a little out of my price range right now.

For whatever its worth, if you find yourself w/o any convenient white letters or socks, the white part of the eye ball often makes a good reference. Or the teeth (usually the younger the person, the better the teeth are -- at least that's been my experience.) Nice shots. I hate shooting my daughter's gymnastics under those lights....

pahl

Using the teeth or eyes is awesome. I had been thinking about what I would do if there was nothing white.

Thanks!

Angelo

they look pretty darn good to me.

the easy "tell" for me is the whiteness of the flourescent lights in one or two of the shots.

Those lights appear white to the naked eye (although they really throw off various horrible colors) and you've achieved that in the photos.

I also assume the mass of the gymnasium space was lit with metal halide lamps which put out a heavy yellow/orange light which is not apparent in your colors.

good job